Town grants special permit to dealership
Town Board members have granted a special use permit to Romeo Kia to open a car dealership at 1905 Ulster Ave. in Lake Katrine, but site plan approval is still required.
The permit was approved following a public hearing last week, with officials noting Romeo Kia needed the authorization because the property in is in the Office Manufacturing District and the Highway Commercial District.
“Car dealership ... in the Office Manufacturing District, they are allowed subject to a special permit of the Town Board,” said Town Attorney Jason Kovacs.
Under the plan, Romeo Kia would move from 111 Schwenk Drive in Kingston, where the business was established as Kingston Buick in March 2000 and later changed to Romeo Chevrolet.
Dealership General Manager Lucia Romeo said the move will allow better parking and broaden the selection of vehicles that can be displayed.
Concern raised during
the hearing came from neighbor Cheryl Drews, who said proposed blasting of a rock ledge should be addressed during the site plan approval process.
“There will be significant blasting in order to put that service or secondary road in and my house is right on the rock ledge ... that will be blasted,” she said. “I don’t know what my insurance will be, that, ... if something occurs to my foundation, what actions will be taken.”
Supervisor James Quigley said the issue should be addressed during the site plan review by the town Planning Board.
Drews previously said there is concern about noise from a proposed repair garage Romeo Kia would operate directly behind her house. She noted the garage doors are expected to be open during the summer because the building will not be air conditioned.
Resident Keith Baxter, who has raised objections to some of the plans, voiced support for the project after his concerns about lighting and storm water collection were addressed by engineers.
“They have made every effort, if not more, to make sure that our concerns have been address and are satisfactory to me,” he said. “We’ve come up with some very good resolutions to my concerns and things I would like to see done. So I see no reason why they should not be given the opportunity to go ahead.”